Wide Angle. Printable Pages

For teachers - economics: conflict, economics, and public health

In order to understand conflict, students must be able to define what conflict is and what different types of conflict exist. This lesson will help students to explore different types of conflict, as well as explore what some of the positive and negative aspects of conflict are, especially when looking at armed conflict. This lesson is designed to help students understand dynamics common to many contemporary armed conflicts by focusing on the link between economics, conflict, and public health in Angola. Keep in mind when talking to your students about conflict that the term "international conflict" is a legal term referring to two countries fighting each other, but that most contemporary conflicts are not international armed conflicts, but rather "internal" armed conflicts such as civil wars.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time Allotment: Two to four 45-minute class periods

Subject Matter: Conflict, Economics, Human Security, Public Health

Learnign Objectives:

Students Will

Use primary sources, such as news reports and video, to gather information about current events and recent world history;

Analyze the information gathered from these primary sources to draw conclusions about conflict, public health, and economics;

Form their own ideas and concepts about conflict, conflict resolution, economics, and public health;

Gain a broader view of conflict, international conflict, and the effects conflict has on a country and its public.

Academic Standards:

National Standards for History
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards

Standard 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F

A. Identify issues and problems in the past and analyze the interests, values, perspectives, and points of view of those involved in the situation.

B. Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances and current factors contributing to contemporary problems and alternative courses of action.

C. Identify relevant historical antecedents and differentiate from those that are inappropriate and irrelevant to contemporary issues.

D. Evaluate alternative courses of action, keeping in mind the information available at the time, in terms of ethical considerations, the interests of those affected by the decision, and the long- and short-term consequences of each.

E. Formulate a position or course of action on an issue by identifying the nature of the problem, analyzing the underlying factors contributing to the problem, and choosing a plausible solution from a choice of carefully evaluated options.

F. Evaluate the implementation of a decision by analyzing the interests it served; estimating the position, power, and priority of each player involved; assessing the ethical dimensions of the decision; and evaluating its costs and benefits from a variety of perspectives.

National Standards for Social Studies
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/

VI. Power, Authority and Governance: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance.

V. Individuals, Groups and Institutions: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

IX. Global Connections: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence.

X. Civic Ideals and Practices: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.

National Standards for Economics
http://www.ncee.net/ea/standards/

Standards 3, 16 and 17

3. Allocation of Goods and Services: Different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. People acting individually or collectively through government, must choose which methods to use to allocate different kinds of goods and services.

16. Role of Government: There is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income.

17. Using Cost/Benefit Analysis to Evaluate Government Programs: Costs of government policies sometimes exceed benefits. This may occur because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, because of actions by special interest groups that can impose costs on the general public, or because social goals other than economic efficiency are being pursued.

Media Components

Video:
Wide Angle
Thirteen/WNET New York's weekly series of one-hour international documentaries, hosted by Daljit Dhaliwal and James P. Rubin, recognizes a new and urgent need to understand the political, economic, and social forces shaping the world today.

Web Sites:

http://www.alertnet.org/aboutus/
http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/
countryprofiles/152501.htm
This Web site provides global news, communications and logistics services to the international disaster relief community and the public. Reuters' 150 years of experience reporting from disaster zones around the world allows AlertNet to give disaster relief organizations reliable information, fast.

http://www.preventconflict.org/portal/economics/portalhome.php
The Web site for Conflict Prevention Initiative (CPI) is an online project of the Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research. CPI gives policymakers and practitioners easy access via online portals to information on human security and conflict prevention. The CPI portals address critical issues related to human insecurity and the effects of conflict on populations and alert policymakers to relevant academic materials as well as news, maps and the most up-to-date research.

http://www.icspress.com/
This is Web site for The Institute for Contemporary Studies which has available online the publication Conflict Prevention and U.S. Foreign Assistance: A Framework for the 21st Century, Chapter Two, Defining Conflict. A good source for a discussion on "defining conflict."

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week605/cover.html
This Web site allows you to access video clips from the PBS program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. The particular segment most relevant to this lesson is The US and Aids. This particular clip focuses on the United States and its economic position dealing with the international HIV/AIDS crisis and epidemic.

http://www.africaguide.com/popups/mailpop.htm
Map of Africa

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/CIA_Maps/Angola_19838.gif
Map of Angola

http://www.aegis.com/default.asp?req=http://www.aegis.com/news/ads/2002/AD022283.html
http://www.aegis.com/news/ads/2002/AD022283.html
This Web site is for the AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGiS), which has a keyword-searchable knowledge base. AEGiS offers cutting edge information via HIV/AIDS-specific publications and news sources from around the world. In addition, an array of reference materials is offered. As new aspects of HIV/AIDS arise, AEGiS continues to extend its efforts towards the dissemination of potentially life saving information. One particular article to have your students reference is entitled AIDS Imperiling African Armies, Key to Stability of Many Nations.

http://www.thebody.com/index.shtml
http://www.thebody.com/cdc/news_updates_archive/
nov25_02/aids_african_armies.html
This Web site is for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division that focuses on HIV and AIDS; The Body: an Aids and HIV Information Resource. The article in particular to look for is entitled: AIDS Imperiling African Armies, Key to Stability of Many Nations

http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.who.int/country/usa/en/
This is the Web site for The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations specialized agency for health. WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

http://www.imf.org/
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2003/01/pdf/chapter1.pdf
This is the Web site for The International Monetary Fund, an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment.

http://www.unaids.org/
Web site for the UNAIDS which includes a fact Sheet on AIDS - Worldwide.

http://www.who.int/director-general/
speeches/1999/english/19991206_new_york.html
This site hosts an article by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Director-General for the World Health Organization, entitled "Why Investing in Global Health is Good Politics."

http://www.worldbank.org/tenthings/2ndedition/two2.htm
Web site for the World Bank. Ten Things You Never Knew About the World Bank. Information about HIV and AIDS.

http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/avi/3.html
Web site article entitled Attitudes Toward U.S. Foreign Assistance: Perception and Reality. The article focuses on World Health and economics.

Materials

Per Class:

Blackboard, whiteboard or poster paper
appropriate writing utensil for your writing surface
Copies of appropriate videos
TV/VCR
Scotch tape (necessary if you are using poster paper so that you can display students' work)

Per Student:

Copy of Angola Fact Sheet
Copy of United States Fact Sheet
Copy of Triangle Worksheet
Pen or Pencil
Computer or Internet Access (classroom, computer lab, or library)
Web site hyperlink document (listing of appropriate sites for students to use for research)

Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching, bookmark all of the Web sites used in the lesson and create a Microsoft Word document with all of the Web sites as hyperlinks for the students to access the sites. Make sure that your computer and the computer the students will be using have the necessary media players to play any video clips, which are Shockwave, Real Video, and Quicktime. CUE any videotapes to the segment(s) you plan on using to support your lesson.

When using media, provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

What is "conflict" and how does conflict play a role in a country's economics and its public health?

Step 1
Explain to your students that you will be examining the role of economics in the context of conflict, and that they will also be examining the issue of public health and conflict. Ask your students to brainstorm a definition for the term conflict, as well as to create a short list of conflicts of which they are currently aware. Have them record their ideas individually or in small groups or teams. Then have the students share their definitions and list of conflicts during an open classroom discussion. Write the students' responses on your blackboard, whiteboard, or poster paper. Make sure that your discussion addresses some of these questions:

What is conflict?
Is conflict ever positive?
What types of conflict are there? (War, arguments, physical fights, discussion, debate, etc.)
What other factors influence or change a conflict? (money, power, gender, age, etc.)

Using the information gathered above as a class develop your own definition of the word conflict with examples of any current or past conflicts.

Suggested Web site: http://www.icspress.com/

Step 2
Now that the students have formed a "common" definition for the word conflict as well as developed a list of current and past conflicts, have them share any information or facts that they have regarding each of the conflicts. Make sure that your students have a basic understanding of the difference between an international conflict, such as the war in Iraq, versus an internal conflict or civil war. Have them focus on the economics of the conflicts. To help them start thinking about the economics involved in conflict, use the questions below:

How much government support was needed for the conflict? (Have them estimate a percentage: do they think a government should spend 50% of their budget on military support, 30%, etc.)
How important a role do they think money plays in the conflict?
How important is money on the effect or outcome of a conflict?

Step 3
Create the same type of brainstorming activity and discussion in class based on the term "public health." Make sure the students think about the type of role that a government plays in the health and welfare of its people and how public health and economics can and do play a role in a conflict situation. (*Make sure that they focus on war as a type of conflict, but it is important for them to understand that economics and health can also play a role in many different types of conflict, such as domestic issues surrounding welfare, housing, or even personal arguments you may have within your own family.)

Learning Activities
Explain to the students that you are going to study and explore a current economic/conflict situation by learning more about the country of Angola.

Step 1
To insure that all of your students have a basic concept of where Angola is located, give them opportunities to look up Angola on a world map or have them use maps that are located on the Internet.

Internet maps and general country information on Angola can be found at:

http://www.africaguide.com/popups/mailpop.htm http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/CIA_Maps/Angola_19838.gif

Step 2
Now that your students have created a definition for the term "conflict," as well as the term "public health," explain to them that you will be moving your focus onto a current international health, conflict, and economic crisis: HIV/AIDS in the country of Angola following their civil war. (NOTE: Wide Angle will be airing a program on Angola in the fall of 2003.)

To begin ask your students:

What do you think is the largest killer of human beings: Conflict or Disease?
How much money do you think is spent on conflict? (This includes military preparation and actual combat.)
How much money do you think is spent on public health?
How much of a role do money and economics play in conflict?
How much of a role does poverty play in public health?
How does public health affect conflict?

Step 3
Distribute the Triangle Worksheet.
Have the students complete the worksheet and then as a class discuss their work.
Share with the class the "Teachers" copy of the worksheet.
Remember that this is an estimation worksheet: the actual figures are not documented exactly, so we are not able to create triangles that are 100% accurate.

Step 4
Distribute the Facts about Angola hand-out.
Have the students research more information about the current situation in Angola. Be sure to give them a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION before they begin their research, such as, "What are some of the economic and health issues as a result of the 27 year civil war in Angola?"

Some questions you may want to start them thinking about are:

What is the current mortality rate in Angola?
Of that number, how many people die from AIDS in Angola?
How much money is spent on public health in Angola?
How much money is spent on defense in Angola?
How is the military affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Angola?

Suggested Web sites:

Culminating Activity (compare and contrast with the United States)

Step 1
As a class, review the definition and discussion of conflict that you had at the beginning of this lesson as well as the information that the class has been gathering regarding the country of Angola. This is a great opportunity to post the lists that you developed or to re-write them on the blackboard for the students to review.

Step 2
You are now going to have the students do an exercise to compare and contrast information that they have gathered regarding economics, public health and conflict in Angola with the current situation in the United States.

Distribute the Facts about the United States hand-out.

Have the students research and gather more information about the current situation in the United States. Make sure to give them a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION before they begin their research, such as, "What are some of the economic and health issues (HIV/AIDS related) in the United States?" and "How is the US dividing its budget between defense/military costs and public health costs?"

Some questions you may want to use to start them thinking are:

What is the current mortality rate in the United States?
Of that number how many people die from AIDS in the United States?
How much money is spent on public health in the United States?
How much money is spent on defense in the United States?
How is the military affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States?

Suggested Web Sites:

Step 3
As a class, review the information that the students have gathered and researched regarding conflict, economics, and public health in reference to Angola and the United States.

Pull out the original lists that the students created along with any new resources that have been developed and open up the class to discussion. Re-address the Focus for Media Interaction questions you gave your students throughout this lesson. Ask them to discuss how their opinions regarding conflict and economics may have been changed. Do they have new ideas about how governmental money should be spent on conflict versus health issues? How would they create their triangle worksheet now that they have a better understanding of how at least two countries budget for conflict?

Cross Curricular Extensions

Social Studies/Current Events
Examine other international events where public health, conflict, and economics have played a major role (such as the U.S. war with Iraq or the genocide in Rwanda). How do those events compare with or contrast to what the students found out about Angola or the United States? As a homework assignment, have the students come to class with an example of how a current conflict is affected by the country's economics.

Government/US History
Investigate how different countries' governments react to a public health crisis such as HIV and AIDS. Using the Internet and any video resources you may have, ask the students to compare and contrast various countries' policies and world health positions.

Economics/Mathematics
How does economics play a role in public health? When researching the issues of public health and conflict, what role did economics play? Using the articles and information the students have already gathered, make a chart of some of the economic information gathered by the United Nations, the World Bank, as well as various country governments regarding economics, public health, and conflict.

Community Connections

Identify a local community site to visit that will encourage a discussion regarding public health and world health issues. Some possibilities are: AIDS clinics, governmental offices that deal with public health, health clinics in local hospitals.

Contact local organizations that are involved in changing local and country-specific public health and conflict policies. A number of national organizations, such as Amnesty International and UNA-USA, have activities specifically designed for students to take an active role in changing country policies.